


Motivation

by angel1876



Series: Carry On [5]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Dating, Drinking, F/M, Fluff, Food, Running, Smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-25 20:45:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16668010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angel1876/pseuds/angel1876
Summary: There are easier ways to go about things...But the easy way isn't always the fun way.





	Motivation

Andrew never liked running the track during P.E. 

He'd do other things first, the sit-ups, the weights, anything but track. It just wasn't his thing, hadn't been since day one. Which was kind of a pity, considering his girlfriend never did anything but run during her hour there. 

He didn't have to join her, of course. But familiarity was an instinctive thing. Humans, social creatures as they are, tend to keep close to the people they spend the most time with. Andrew often teamed up with Elise in math. In his other classes, he'd had acquaintances that were his go-to partners for any project that the teachers decided to throw at them. In P.E., especially since it was his only class with her, Andrew started to gravitate toward spending it with Danielle. 

Danielle was good at running. 

It was amazing to watch, sometimes. Not just that she could take off and rocket away at full speed, but that she could maintain it. All that endless energy fueled into carrying herself forward. Her eyes were bright after a run, flaring up with that determination of hers. In that moment, she wasn't a raging storm designed to make the earth tremble around her. She was happy, her fire inspiring instead of intimidating.

Of course, flying down the track meant flying away from him. He never asked her to slow down, but she did, easing back a bit to match him and stopping when he stopped.

"Come on, boo," she'd tell him, her tone one of encouragement, "We should keep going a little longer. The more you do it, the easier it'll be."

And she was right. It was awful the first few days, but the more he did it, the longer he could keep it up before having to stop. He made it to a full lap within the first month. Once he got there, though, Danielle stopped pressing him for distance, and started pushing for speed. 

"You need to cut down your time," she told him, pacing casually at his side as they walked toward the starting line of the track. "You're still doing great, but there's always room for improvement. And I need to get back to going my top speed, so how about we switch things up? If you can get one lap in before I get two, I'll buy you lunch for a week."

He snorted. "Trying to motivate me?"

"Yeah." She quickened her pace a bit, got ahead of him and then turned around, walking backwards. "I never eat here anyway, and I have enough for what I bring from home, so you don't have to worry."

"I'm not worried...but I can still buy my own lunch." Andrew glanced away, briefly. Looking back at her, he said, "If I get that lap in before you get two, how about you let me take you on a date instead?"

A pause. More startled then anything, and then a laugh. "Holy shit. Dude. First of all, that's cliche as fuck, are we secretly the stars of a chick flick? Second of all, you're already my boyfriend. Why not just ask me?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, threw her a sheepish grin. "Well, it's more fun this way. And you wanted to give me a reason, right?"

"Mmm. I suppose it's a good a motive as any. But no fast food."

"Hey, fast food is awesome."

She turned, slowing down to walk at his side again. Took the opportunity to nudge his shoulder. "So are vegetables."

"Health-nut. I'm gonna get you a hamburger and a soda. A real soda."

"Nuuuu boo."

"Yes boo. You don't get to lecture me on vegetables when you chug whiskey and smoke in the girl's bathroom." He nudged her shoulder in return. "Maybe I'll get you a cake, too."

"But the cake is a lie."

Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Do you even know where that's from?"

"It's _from_ something?"

"...Danielle. You and I are going to have a long talk this weekend. Four to six hours worth, depending on how good you are at puzzles."

"Do I get cake if I'm good at them?"

"No. The cake is a lie."

"Aww. Now I want it."

"I thought you didn't like junk food?"

"I like junk food if someone tries to tell me I can't have it."

"Tch, of course you do."

At the line now. They took a moment to stretch, get themselves ready. Without further discussion, they counted to three, and the game was on. Danielle out-paced him easily, but it wasn't a matter of beating her at one lap. Stealing himself, he pushed himself hard, went as fast as he could...

Saw Danielle pass him a second time when he was a little more than halfway through.

She was waiting for him by the time he got to the line. Had half a bottle of water in her hand, watching him slow to a stop and put his hands on his knees for balance. Wow. She really was that fast.

"Where...did you even learn to do that..." he asked.

"To be fair, you've got a foot on me, so you weigh more than I do. On top of that, you haven't been running very long." She handed him the bottle, and he downed it. "Anyway, if you still wanna go out, you got about...three more steps to take."

"...what?"

"I haven't gone over the line yet, boo. So technically, I haven't actually been around twice."

"That's...that's cheating!"

"Fuck the rules. We do what we want."

Putting a hand on his back, she nudged him over the line. He laughed, as much as he could laugh while catching his breath. 

"You know...what this means?" he asks, "It means hamburgers...and soda."

"That's fine. That just means that when I take you out, we're going to go to a nice place with all kinds of plants. And, dare I say, green tea?"

"Danielle no."

"Danielle yes. _'Do unto others,'_ and all that. Now come on, let's find a place to sit down for a few."

They still had like, half the class to go. 

When they got up, he was going to invite her over to the weights section.


End file.
